Monday, January 3, 2011

I'm now back in the office as the holiday break has ended. One thing about having a regular job is that the vacations are much shorter. That said, I had an awesome week off.

For starters, Aunt Cynthia invited my family over for lunch on Christmas. The gathering turned out to be so much fun that we stayed for dinner as well. The Shiehs made lots of food, all of which was delicious. You can go here for the pictures.

This was followed by a day trip to Monterey on the 27th. The best part was checking out the restaurants on Fisherman's Wharf and trying the clam chowder samples. All of the food on display looked really good; the only reason we didn't stay for dinner is that we had leftovers at home. The day trip was overall enjoyable; Monterey is definitely a place I'd like to revisit in the future. I've posted pictures here.

Continuing on, the three of us went on a short trip to Tahoe three days later. The getaway rocked despite being only one night long. We got home just in time to join the Shieh family again for New Year's Eve. As you can see, the break was amazing!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

It feels like 2010 has just started. Can you believe 2011 is already here?

I'll start by saying that we didn't have anyone over for New Year's Eve. Though Mom had invited two other families, neither of them could come. On the other hand, Aunt Cynthia had us over for dinner. I'm definitely not complaining!

Connie had left for San Diego a few days ago, but Cathy was home. It was nice to enjoy the food and watch the Times Square ball drop while hanging out with my cousin. Cathy's friend Christina later stopped by and seemed really cool. However, Dad was tired and wanted to go home. As much as I'd have loved to stay and get to know Christina better, I didn't want to be selfish and keep my parents waiting. Oh well, there are probably other chances to get acquainted.

Even though our own New Year's Eve party was canceled, I'm thankful that we got to spend time with the Shiehs.

2010 in review

Last year was pretty tough; the worst part was when my father lost his job in August. The car burglary six days later didn't help the issue. Another unpleasant memory was when an "FBI agent" accused me of aiming my laser at aircraft while we were at Roaring Camp. Though we quickly figured he wasn't a real FBI agent, our evening was ruined, especially considering that we had looked forward to the event for so long. Dad had paid $135 for the tickets and understandably wasn't too happy either.

On a more positive note, the best part of 2010 was finishing graduate school. It took a huge financial burden off our shoulders, not to mention we had an awesome party on the last day of class. Thanksgiving break was also lots of fun; the dinner with the Panns and the Willits day trip were highlights of the long weekend.

All that having been said, it's best not to dwell on the past. Speaking of which, my New Year's resolutions for 2011 are to make more "offline" friends, improve my job performance and be nicer to my parents. Haha.